Who doesn't love a cozy Victorian mystery with an irrepressible 12-year-old girl at the helm? And not just irrepressible, but also impressively intelligent, well educated, and as liberated and indulged as any Young Lady of Quality could be in the late 1800s. 

Myrtle, our girl detective, is the only child of a supportive but distracted British Prosecutor and an intelligent and dedicated medical student, who has died before our story starts, leaving a deep impression on Myrtle's view of the world and her investigative methods. She is exceedingly fortunate in her governess, Ms. Judson, who is extraordinary in her own right. Ms. Judson challenges Myrtle with Socratic methods in her educational pursuits and plays Watson to her Sherlock (or her Enola, if you will). Myrtle also makes the acquaintance of a delightful law clerk with a ridiculous sense of humor that buoys the story at the perfect moments. I hope to see more of Mr. Blakeney in the rest of the series. 

Myrtle is, perhaps, not as fortunate in her social circle, where mean girls shun her and call her "Morbid Myrtle" and where one cantankerous adult/neighbor dies of Mysterious Circumstances and another is probably a murderer. Armed with a spy glass, a knowing cat, a vase of lilies, and an inappropriate interest in cadavers and poisons, and exceptionally detailed understanding of criminal science, Myrtle sets out to solve the mystery, make sense of this unfortunate death, and see justice done. But the stakes get even higher when someone she loves is threatened. 

With just a couple of pacing issues where the story could stand to be streamlined a bit, the writing here is otherwise excellent — striking the perfect cheeky, intelligent tone to match our cheeky, intelligent heroine. The author uses high-level vocab for middle graders, but makes great use of conversational footnotes and fun asides to the reader (Lemony Snicket-style). I would have LOVED this in middle grade when I was devouring Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew and wanting more, more, more — in quantity and quality. I didn't know the term "cozy mystery" then or that an "English murder village" was a thing, but that's exactly what I wanted and it's exactly what Premeditated Myrtle delivers. 

One thing I never love, however, that shows up with frequency in plucky, precocious heroine tales, is when our girl differentiates herself by putting other girls down — she's not like other girls who are silly, empty-headed, and annoying. That creeps in here with Myrtle a bit and I was disappointed to see it. Part of it is salvaged by discovering that one of these "other girls" is actually quite smart and caring, but I wish that had been handled differently. To be fair, it's a excessively patriarchal period of history, and most of Myrtle and Ms. Judson's assessments and engagement with that are handled very well. One other content note: Myrtle also uses "idiot" and "stupid" in reference to herself and others, which I hate to see. This is an otherwise fun and positive story of keen observation, intelligence, and courage winning the day.

I also listened to part of the audiobook, which was excellent.